1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a television camera apparatus used for surveillance applications.
2. Decsription of the Prior Art
Surveillance television cameras are commonly mounted onto a wall, pole, ceiling or any other fixed base by using an extended arm, known as a camera mount. The extended arm or the camera mount includes a swivel joint, which permits the positioning of the horizontal and vertical axes of the camera in order to direct the camera lens toward its intended observation end. In many instances the television cameras are covered by a housing or case which is bulky and, as a result, the entire camera assembly becomes large and heavy and this is very disturbing to the architecture of buildings and interiors where the TV camera is placed.
There are other types of ball-shaped housings or cases for cameras for use in a vandal or explosion prone environment such as the surveillance of oil fields, refineries and/or similar explosive gaseous environment. Applicant""s U.S. patent application for Ball-Shaped camera housing with simplified positioning was filed on Nov. 1, 1999 (Ser. No. 09/431,459). That application disclosed the housing suitable for such environment. Such ball-shaped housing or case can be mounted tightly between two holders having a cutout with a curvature diameter equivalent to the diameter of the ball-shaped case. Such a ball-shaped camera or a case can be repositioned or directed toward a different scene in front of the holder by releasing the front holder gripping pressure. However, the positioning of such a ball-shaped camera is limited to an angle within a sector in front of the front holder and the limitation depend on how wide is the angle of view of the lens. For a lens with a very wide angle of view, the positioning may be limited to a very narrow angle because the visual path of the lens can be obstructed by the front holder surface, even by a small repositioning of the camera.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a holder for a television camera having a ball-shape that permits a wider repositioning of its horizontal and vertical axes for observing different scenes.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide pendant holders for a television camera having a ball-shape that can be mounted to a ceiling or a wall and to maintain its simple repositioning capabilities.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a holder for a television camera having a ball-shape that is pleasing in its design and which does not obstructs the interior designs of a building.
These and other objects of the present invention are attained by a holder for a ball-shaped camera case having a truncated rear portion for providing a spacing and an outlet for an electrical cable; a ring-shaped holder including a fastening means for example an outer thread and an inner curved rim having a curvature radius to a radius of the ball-shaped camera case for supporting and locking said ball, and means for attaching said ring-shaped holder to a fixed mounting fixture and for providing a passage for said cable to the fixed mounting fixture through said ring-shaped holder; an elongated cylindrical cover having a flanged rim at one end thereof and a portion of hemispherical shape at another end thereof and further having an elongated cutout having a width slightly wider than a pane of a lens of said camera and extending from a center of said hemispherical shape toward said flanged rim for providing an optical path for the lens of said camera and for gripping said ball-shaped. camera case inside a hemispherical portion of said hemispherical shape and for providing said camera with a positioning capacity extending through a length of said cutout; and a locking nut having a fastening means, for example a thread complementary to said outer thread and an inner shoulder for attaching and locking said elongated cylindrical cover to said ring-shaped holder by engaging said flanged rim with said inner shoulder and tightening said nut onto said outer thread and locking said ball-shaped camera case between said inner curved rim and said hemispherical portion, wherein said cylindrical cover can be rotated for positioning said cutout around the axis of said hemispheric shape and the lens of said camera can be adjusted to any position within the length of said cutout, and wherein said optical path is not obstructed.